Shoe-heel protector



Jan. 9 1923. 1,442 U28.

III PHILLIPS.

SHOE HEEL PROTECTOR FILED AUG. I6, Ism.

Patented afan. l

SHOE-HEEL JPROTJECTUR.

application med. august 16, 1919. Seriallto. 317,874.

To. all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, NNETTE rllowNsEivn lflrrrnnirs, a citizenV of the.United States, re-

i siding at Goshen, in the county of Urange,

`State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements inShoe-Heel Protectors, of which the following is a spec",- fication,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrative of oneparticular embodiment of my invention.

This invention relates to devices intended to prot/ect the heel of ashoe from wear under special circumstances. lln particular, in the caseof operating an automobile a ladys shoe is so formed that the heelengages the footboard or objects when the foot is on a pedal, and thebowl of the heel, namely, the rear partvof the upper, is subjected toabrasion by wear, and even wit-h the best of care in the case. of lightcolored shoes they are soiled, if not ruined by such use. Rather thanthe inconvenience of changing shoes, the protection of the heel by asupplementary device affords a'much needed saving, and the protectingdevice may be made of material and in form so durable as to out wear anynumber of shoes.` rl`he use of Such an article requires, ho ever, theproduction of something reasonab e in cost, durable and particularlyreadily attachable and removable. While devices for this purpose havebeen suggested, my i vention comprises an improvement meeting all thespecial conditions involved essential to the production of' acommercially practical article.

lin the accompanying drawings ll have shown one form in which:

ll? ig. 1 illustrates the device attached to a shoe with the foot innormal position.

lffig. 2 is a `side View of a foot with the device attached in theposition of use when guiding the pedal of a motor car.

lin the drawings, A is the shoe proper, B is the protector withreinforced portion C in the position where it is subjected to thegreatest wear. The entire protector 1s made to fit the bowl of the heelsnugly, while the reinforcing may be a thin sole leather or a.

thick padded portion of any material de-y sirecL-the whole being heldfirmly in position by the instep strap D.

'll`he strap portion is preferably made with an adjusting buckle al toadjust it to a proper size to fit the particular user, and the ordinarysnap catches with complementary parts on the protector and the end ofthe strap D are located as shown at d, so that they may be readilyremoved. 'll`o prevent the protector from slipping upwards, lf prefer toadd a transverse strap lE passing under the small of the, foot. in frontof the heel, but leaving an opening between the strap and the lowercorner bof the protector amply large to permit the passage of the heela.

The upper edge b of the protector is preferably strengthened orstitched, and likewise the other edges,l where necessary to transmit theholding strain of the instep strap, but in particular the upper edge b lprefer to be so arranged and made that it will be below the edge a ofthe shoe upper proper, so as Ato avoid any contact and abrasion with thestocking or heel of the user.

llt will be seen that the protector may be equally well applied to ashoe, oxford or pump. lin particular, the bowl of the heel being therear portion of the upper 'as-it merges into the heel proper, affords a.convex surface to which my protector may be so fitted as to insuresecurity against its displacement or movement, when tightlyy held by theankle strap. ln some cases, however, the configuration of the shoe issuch that a protector can be made with a suitable spring or otherconstruction embodied so that it can be securely clamped by pressing onfrom the rear,.and held tight against ordinary operation without thenecessity of the strap.

rllhe buckle at 0l' may be in any form desired and may embody thequick-release feature instead of having the snaps d-LZ at the end of thestrap, likewise a tongue or other protection strip may be placed underthe buckle for comfort, or definite sizes of strap may be used withoutvthe necessary adjustment, or a series of snaps may form the readilydetachable connection in a manner to give different lengths, therebyeliminating the buckle and simplify the construction.

The entire article may be made of kid, or any other desired leather orfabric, while the reinforcing material` preferably I sole leather, maybe varied as to materialand thickness, and the outer surface of thereinforcement may be flattened transversely to prevent the rocking ofthe foot.

ln various ways my invention may be modied for simplicity, cheapness ofconstruction, d'urability and ready application and removal.

It will'be noted that in detaching the device the snaps are released andthe entire protector removed without the necessity of handling any ofthe lower edge, or such portionas may have become soiled, which insuresits use with the added advantage of avoiding any soiling of thev handsor gloves. This and the protection to the shoe have become of importancein view of the great increase of operation of cars byladies and theirIdesire to operate cars without any special preparation and frequentlywhen shod with expensive shoes most liable to damage..

While variations in design and material may be 'made'from the particularembodiment herein shown and described, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A protecting device for a shoe having a projectingcounter overhanging a relatively small heel, comprising a body portionsurrounding the counter of the shoe at its main protuberant area andextending part way down the rear-side of the heel, twoforwardlylextending sides adapted to lie against the sides of the shoeand a uniting member at their forward lower"l extremity forming arelatively large opening through which the heel will freely pass saidmember having its broad surface parallel with the sole, and a detachableinstep strap adapted to hold the side portions of the protector againstdisplacement by upper strain on the member uniting the sides underneaththe arch.

2. A protector for a shoe having an overhanging counter and forwardlyinclined heel, comprising a body portion having a wearing surfaceextending over the protuberance of the counter and part way over theheel, sides extending forwardly with the lower margin extending upwardlf to the junction of the arch and the heel and united by an integralmember attached to the sides at the edge of the arch said member havingits broad side parallel with the sole oi theI shoe, forward sections ofthe sides extending upwardly from the arch member and having readilydetachable devices adapted to permit vertical strain from the archmember to an instep strap and means for adjustment and release of saidinstep strap.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of' ,two subscribing witnesses, this 8th day of August,1919.

ANNETTE TOVVNSEND PHILLIPS.

Witnesses:

H. MUCHMORE .HERMANN F. UNTZ.

